The National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) has developed a new research helicopter, MuPAL-e, which is designed to flexibly meet the requirements of flight testing in the fields of helicopter guidance, navigation, and control, especially pilot-vehicle interfaces. MuPAL-e is based on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries MH2000A and is equipped with four systems for supporting research experiments: a data acquisition system that provides extensive flight data; a cockpit display system driven by a high-performance graphics computer that enables researchers to experiment with various types of display; a video recording system that captures external views to allow image processing technology to be applied to helicopter navigation; and a variable stability system that realizes different dynamic responses to pilot control inputs. Installed sensors include a hybrid DGPS/INS that provides highly accurate navigation data, and an ultrasonic velocimeter that can measure 3-axis airspeeds even in the hover. This paper describes the detailed design of these experimental systems and presents flight test data that demonstrate the accuracy of the installed sensors.
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